Fraud
by Mikauzoran
Summary: Azusa's brother is caught in the clutches of a femme fatale. In order to knock some sense into him, Amuro proposes that Azusa announce an engagement of her own—to Amuro. What happens when real feelings develop between a pair only pretending to be a couple?


Mikau: Hello guys! Thanks so much for checking this out. I've got another AmuAzu piece for you today done for Poirot Café's latest 5k Contest "Decisions". There are actually no overt spoilers in this fic, despite it having Amuro in it. I've pretty much played him as he first appears in the anime/manga. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be more romance than mystery. -.-; Because I regrettably suck at mysteries. I'm told my romance is good, though! ^.^;

…

Fraud

Azusa was acting strangely, but only when she thought no one was watching.

She'd smile and laugh and carry on like usual in that cheerful, almost airheaded fashion in public…but when she sat by herself in the breakroom, the mask cracked. Her smile faltered, and the most forlorn expression came into her eyes.

Azusa thought no one was watching, but _Amuro_ noticed.

The other workers at Poirot were easily fooled by Azusa's ever-cheerful act, but Amuro was used to reading and analyzing people. In his work as a detective, people lied to him daily, and he'd long ago learned to sift through the blinds and playacting to get to the truth.

He'd first sensed that something was off with the waitress about a week earlier, and since then he'd been paying extra close attention to her. Now that he was looking, he could see the signs of distress.

She wasn't sleeping well and was applying makeup to hide the resulting raccoon rings. Her eyes—normally shiny and bright, cerulean like refreshing summer waves—looked dull and glassy. Her smile—usually so natural and artless—was forced, and she seemed drained. She didn't have her normal level of energy.

She was pushing herself to act like nothing was wrong, and that was only compiling the stress. So Amuro decided to step in. He really was fond of his coworker, and he admired how truly good a person she was. He'd had an eye on her even before he'd picked up on her fatigue and anxiety, so he knew about the little things she did in the community out of sheer compassion.

He'd seen her pick up stray animals and find them homes. She walked children across the street and carried groceries for the single mother trying to balance a baby on her hip while holding the umbrella, the grocery bags, and her other child's hand. Amuro had witnessed Azusa stopping by to check on the elderly whose families had forgotten about them, and he'd seen the way she stood up to hoodlums on the train as well as schoolyard bullies picking on lowerclassmen.

Azusa always went out of her way to be there for anyone in need, and it was about time that someone was there for Azusa.

So that Thursday Amuro orchestrated it so that his break coincided with Azusa's. He went back into the breakroom where he found her looking distraught and weary as she perused some girly fashion magazine.

…Only upon closer inspection, Azusa was employing that classic trick to make it seem like she was reading one book when she actually had another tucked away behind the first. It was actually some kind of comic.

"What manga is that?" he inquired, leaning across the table to sneak a peek. It looked like YuYu Hakusho. He _loved_ YuYu Hakusho.

Azusa jumped and rushed to shut the magazine. Apparently she'd been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed him come in. "A-Amuro-san! I was just…" She looked down at the magazine cover, searching for the title. "It's…it's a magazine…um…about fashion."

He nodded. If she wanted to pretend, that was fine. "I see…" Time for business: "Say, are you feeling all right, Azusa-san? You seem tired lately."

A flash of alarm flew across her face, but then her mask snapped back into place. "Oh! I'm fine. Thank you," she laughed cheerily…only it sounded as fake as snow in California.

Amuro's brow furrowed slightly, but he decided not to press. She probably didn't feel comfortable sharing with him. They weren't close, and if it were a personal problem, she'd be far more likely to talk to one of the other waitresses than Amuro.

Still… "Just…let me know if there's anything I can do, Azusa-san," he entreated softly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want, but know that I'm here if you need me, okay?"

She stared at him in honest surprise as he gave her a shallow bow and turned to leave.

…

It was about a week later that Amuro just happened to be taking an afternoon stroll through Beika Park (in actuality, trying to get some evidence that a client's wife was a cheating you-know-what meeting up with her lover at aforementioned park) when he literally ran into a weeping Azusa.

Rather, she ran into him, probably unable to see due to the torrent of tears pouring down her face.

"A-Amuro-san!" she exclaimed, trying to pull herself together enough to slap on a smile. "I—I'm sorry! …I…didn't see—" She broke off as she choked on a sob, knowing it was useless to pretend any longer.

"Hey." He awkwardly stepped in and guided her over to a bench a little ways off the path so that they'd have a bit more privacy. "You're all right, Azusa-san. It's okay."

He pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to her, and then sat beside her as she cried it out. From time to time he offered her soothing, reassuring words, and eventually she calmed down enough to explain herself.

"I feel like such an idiot," she sighed.

"Not at all," he assured. "You've been bottling it up for a couple weeks. It's normal to break down like that under so much pressure."

She shook her head. "I should be happy, but…"

He frowned but let her continue.

"My brother is getting married." She said it as if the words themselves were glass shards cutting into her.

"His fiancée is such a witch, but he doesn't see that because he's so in love with her. She's mean, really two-faced, and she bullies me when he's not looking," Azusa elaborated, tearing up again. "I try so hard to get along with her, to make her like me, but…"

"Have you told your brother?" Amuro asked unobtrusively.

"How could I tell him that the woman he loves is secretly evil?" she sighed, dabbing at her eyes as they began to overflow again.

"How could you _not_ tell him?" Amuro returned. "Isn't it your duty as his little sister? Getting married is one of the biggest decisions of a person's life. They should go into it fully informed because, if not…" He let the words hang, letting her imagine the consequences. He continued gently, "I think it'll be more painful for everyone later if you _don't_ say something. It's better that he knows before it's too late because I guarantee that it's not going to get any better. Marriage only changes people for the worse."

"You're awfully pessimistic," Azusa observed, pursing her lips. "But…I think you're right…at least about my brother needing to know. I'll…I'll tell him. Somehow." Her face twisted into a troubled expression, indicating that she had no clue how she was to follow through.

Her anguish cut through his heart like shrapnel as it called up images of a heartbroken Akemi, crying on his shoulder after she'd learned that "Maboroshi Dai" had only been using her to get to the Organization.

Here Amuro was again: a distraught young woman and no way for him to stop those tears.

Unless…

"You know," he broke into her stormy thoughts offhandedly. "It could be that your brother is too obsessed with this woman to see things clearly. Maybe if you give him something else to focus on, something to really command his attention, he'll wake up and see what's actually going on."

Azusa blinked at him owlishly, head slowly tipping to the side. "Like…what exactly?"

Amuro made an effort to look away from the cute display as he bashfully suggested, "Maybe…your own engagement?"

"I'm not engaged." Her head tipped the other way.

"I mean you should pretend you're engaged," Amuro responded, shifting uncomfortably on the cold stone bench.

"But what if my brother wants to meet my fiancé? It'll be just like that time in sixth grade when I pretended to have a boyfriend," Azusa sighed, resting her elbow on her knee and her cheek in her palm as she slowly blew out a steady stream of air.

Amuro cleared his throat, concentrating very hard on not blushing as he replied, "I'm trying to say that you should pretend that I'm your fiancé. A tan-skinned, dyed-haired, private eye nearly seven years your senior? Any older brother would flip. It should be enough to shock him into taking stock of what's really important in his life."

Azusa's jaw dropped, and her face lit up like a red light district. She stammered for a minute before she was able to piece together the words she wanted. "Amuro-san…is that really okay? I mean…it would be a huge inconvenience…."

He shook his head as he turned to look her in the eye. "Not at all. A true gentleman never begrudges going out of his way for a lady…. And besides. Azusa-san, you do a lot for other people. You deserve a little help." He gave her his best charismatic grin, hoping that would inspire a little confidence.

She returned the smile, laughing as she dabbed at her eyes with his handkerchief. "Thank you, Amuro-san. You really are a good person. I don't know how to thank you."

He was sorely tempted to play the cliché hero of many a cheesy romance and say something like "Your smile is thanks enough", but he thought better of it. He wasn't aiming at charming her—a good, wholesome girl like her needed to stay as far away from him as possible. Helping Azusa was strictly penance for his inability to save Akemi…his utter failure even to assist Akemi's little sister.

This little act of "altruism" was merely an exercise in decreasing his karma deficit…at least…that's what he told himself at first.

…

Enomoto Sugihito was informed the following evening that his little sister had been caught up in a whirlwind romance ending in passionate confessions on both sides followed by a desperate proposal of marriage. Enomoto Sugihito was incredulous, violently ill, and homicidal in turn.

A meeting of the fiancé was demanded, and Azusa, understandably, began to fret.

"What are we going to do?! Niichan is going to ask all kinds of questions, and he's going to _know_ because we don't look or act anything like a couple!" Azusa cried, wringing the strings of her apron as she paced like a half-crazed leopard at the zoo around the café.

"Calm down," Amuro kindly instructed in a soothing tone, coming over and stilling her hands with his own. He gave them a light, reassuring squeeze and smiled. "It'll be fine. We just have to practice being a couple and make sure that we have our story straight. I'm confident in my ability to pull this off, so you should be too, okay, Azusa-san?"

Azusa gulped as she gazed into his steely grey eyes. They were soft and warm and inviting, asking her to trust in him. She swallowed again and nodded. "Okay. Just…tell me what to do."

He smiled, releasing her hands and giving her a "Good girl" pat on the shoulder.

The muffin timer went off, so Amuro made his way back behind the counter, laying out the battle plan as he went: "First, I think we need to spend some time together and get to know each other. We'll also need to nail down the details of how we started dating, who confessed first…stuff like that. If you'd like, we can get some dinner together after work and discuss it then."

Azusa bit her lip, looking reluctant.

At first, Amuro thought that maybe it was his offer that she was loathe to accept.

"I actually don't have enough extra cash this week to go out to eat," she admitted, revealing the true source of her anxiety.

Amuro laughed fondly at her, shaking his head as he removed the muffins from the oven. "I'll treat you."

"Oh, I couldn't let you do that!" was her immediate reply.

"Why not? I'm supposed to be your fiancé, aren't I?" Amuro challenged.

Azusa frowned, fidgeting uneasily with a dishtowel. "But…you're _not_ really…"

"Pretend that I am," he urged. "From now until your brother breaks up with that woman, pretend that we're actually engaged…otherwise, I don't think we'll be able to fool your brother."

Azusa chewed on her lip for a minute before finally nodding her consent. "Okay…. Okay. I'll pretend that…that you're my fiancé."

"I'll try to deserve the honor," he replied with a bow and his usual, charismatic smile.

…

After work, they headed down the street to a little Italian place. Amuro was the perfect gentleman, holding open the door and pulling out her chair, and that helped Azusa to relax a bit. She felt bad for actually taking her coworker up on his offer and dragging him into her family matters, but Amuro was so genuinely kind and supportive that she started to feel that maybe it was okay after all to accept his help.

"So what do you think about this place for our first date?" Amuro inquired after they'd looked over the menus and were just waiting for their server to come back.

Azusa gave a start and colored. "Our…Our first date?"

Amuro shrugged with a warm laugh. "Sure. I mean, we're engaged, aren't we? We've had to have had a first date, so… How about this place?"

Azusa squirmed a bit, glancing about the room at the faded but dignified upholstery and the jewel-toned glass bottles displayed behind the bar, before she nodded in assent. "It certainly has character."

"And good wine. Do you drink?"

She smiled wryly, a pinch of pain in the corners of her eyes. "No. No, I don't."

"Then they have good desserts," he amended, noting her reaction but choosing not to comment. "I recommend the Italian wedding cake, but the carrot cake and their spumoni are also good."

"You sound like a waiter," she chuckled softly, the dark look of seconds before evaporating into her usual smile.

"I wear many hats." He shrugged. "Being a PI doesn't always pay the bills, so I have to work odd jobs to supplement my income…. Would that be problematic?" He gazed questioningly at her.

Her brow furrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Once we're married," he clarified and then had to hold in a laugh as her cheeks glowed like Christmas lights. "It sounds like I'm financially unstable, and that's not a good environment to settle down and raise kids in, but I just want to assure you that even though it can be a bit of a squeeze at imes, I'm actually very dependable financially."

"You'll probably have to prove that to my brother," Azusa chuckled as she got her blush under control. "He's always wanted me to marry a lawyer or a doctor."

The waiter came back and took their order, putting an end to that part of the conversation. Once he left, Azusa picked things right back up.

"So…how did we start dating?" she bit her lip as she silently brainstormed.

"I caught you reading YuYu Hakusho at work one day and we started to bond over our mutual love of manga?" he suggested.

She smiled sheepishly, reaching up to twist a strand of hair around her fingers. "So you saw that, huh? …Not very ladylike, but…"

"I'd much rather have a conversation with a woman who reads manga than fashion magazines," he informed. "You shouldn't concern yourself with what's considered proper for a girl. There's no right or wrong, only what you're interested in."

Her lips parted slightly as she stared at him in wonder and awe. She smiled brilliantly. "I actually like a lot of different shounen manga. There's the popular stuff like Fullmetal Alchemist and Gundam, but…I enjoy some pretty obscure stuff too…. Do you…like manga, Amuro-san?"

"I devour the stuff," he admitted. "Well, not as much now as I used to when I was younger, but…" He smiled and changed lines of thought ever so slightly. "Have you ever heard of Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari?"

Her face lit up and they eagerly discussed the series. The conversation gradually meandered onto the subject of D. Gray-man and, from there, proceeded to comparing the manga and anime versions of Ao no Exorcist and Soul Eater. They had generally agreed that the manga was typically better when their soups and salads arrived.

When Amuro got home that night after dropping Azusa off at her apartment, he headed for the shower to start getting ready for bed. Most nights he tried to be asleep by nine so that he could get up at three and do his exercise routine before heading in to open up the café at the crack of dawn. As he grabbed a towel out of the closet, he happened to catch a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror; a happy-go-lucky smile had made itself at home on his lips.

He frowned at the oddity. It had been a long time since he'd last worn such a carefree, content grin…a _genuine_ one, anyway. He'd faked them often, putting on a happy mask, but…it'd been a _long_ time since he'd actually felt this happy for real.

He gave a little snort as he looked away, dropping his clothes and stepping into the shower. He tried not to think as the hard spray of the hot water massaged his back, but memories of that evening with Azusa—her smile, her laugh, her facial expressions, her eyes—kept tapping him on the shoulder out of seemingly nowhere.

With a sigh, he accepted the fact that it had been nice to have a real conversation with someone for the first time in months. He was always so caught up in the job that there was rarely time to indulge in personal interests, and the closest he got to hanging out with "friends" of any kind came in the form of online gaming. His job required isolation, and it really had been driving him batty lately. It had been nice to actually talk to Azusa.

It had been a _good_ first date…albeit a fake one. And the fact that it wasn't real kind of bothered him.

Stepping out of the shower, he shook his head like a dog, and water went everywhere. Unfortunately, the head shaking did nothing to clear his thoughts of his not-date with Azusa. He needed to bring out the big guns to get his mind in order.

He dressed and sat down at his desk with his laptop. A quick game of League of Legends would do the trick…hopefully. And he was in luck! "Rei", one of his online "friends" that he regularly played with was on.

"Rei" was a huge Gundam fan who usually played top lane and specialized in Rumble. Amuro wasn't quite sure if "Rei" was a guy or a girl, but he was leaning towards the theory that "Rei" was either a gay male or a major tomboy, probably in grad school studying business at the moment. Either way, "Rei" was a good team player, intelligent, rock-steady, and reliable. He/she was always fun to work with.

Only…"Rei" had been MIA for the past three weeks.

Amuro sent "Rei" a message, asking him how he had been and if he wanted to play a match.

"Rei" responded, "Hey. Long time no see, Zer0. Sorry. I've just had some family stuff going on. I can play one game, but I've got to turn in soon because I work bright and early tomorrow."

One game became two, then three, and ultimately Amuro showed up for work tired the following morning.

Azusa came in an hour later, yawning away as she filled up a carafe with hot water.

Noticing Azusa dozing off and the vessel about to overflow, Amuro went over and quickly shut off the valve. "Careful," he advised gently, taking the carafe from her. "You'll burn yourself."

She jumped and blushed at her slipup. "Sorry, Amuro-san." She bowed meekly. "Thanks for looking out for me."

He set down the carafe and studied her. "How are you holding up?" She looked fine. Still not her usual, bouncy self, but no longer suffering from constant anxiety. She merely looked sleep-deprived.

"I'm okay, thanks to you." She gave him a grateful smile that glowed despite her ashen complexion and tired eyes. "I mean, I'm still worried about our meeting with my brother next week, but I'm just a little sleepy today because I stayed up too late last night. Sorry to worry you."

"So long as you're all right." He smiled warmly at her, shaking his head fondly as he went back to pouring cupcake batter.

…

That Sunday they took their lunch together and stepped out to eat at a little sandwich shop around the corner. Azusa talked excitedly about how Sword Art Online was ripping her heart out and stomping on it just like Madoka Magica for a bit before the conversation transformed completely into one about American rock bands.

Who would have ever guessed that ACDC and Led Zeppelin were right up Azusa's alley?

"I'm also developing a taste for Pink Floyd lately," she confided conspiratorially, scrunching her nose up as she laughed and twirled her straw around in her fingers.

She was absolutely adorable…but she had never heard of Barclay James Harvest.

"I have so much to teach you," Amuro sighed, plugging his earbuds into his phone and commencing to convert her.

…

Monday evening they went out for ice cream, and it was then that he received an even more startling revelation about the girl he was begrudgingly developing feelings stronger than friendship for.

"So, we talk a lot about interests like music and books and comics and anime," she began as she gave her sea salt caramel cone a tentative lick. "But we don't really talk about hobbies. I mean…what do you do in your limited free time? Conan-kun mentioned once that you played tennis really well, but…" She gave him an expectant look with those dazzling blue eyes that was more effective than any torture he had ever endured at pulling secrets from his lips.

"Well, as you've mentioned, I don't have much leisure time, but, fortunately, online gaming doesn't take much," he volunteered with a nonchalant shrug of the right shoulder.

Her eyes widened at this. "What games do you play?" she asked with a strange sense of urgency.

"Well, I used to do World of Warcraft, but lately it's been mostly League of Legends." He took a casual lick of his own mint ice cream and hoped that he didn't look juvenile. It was hard to eat ice cream in a dignified manner.

A huge grin spread across her face at this news and she laughed, "Really?! Me too! I've been playing LOL for about three years now. What's your screenname? We should play together sometime!"

Amuro blinked. Because Azusa played online games. Every time he talked to this girl, he had to change his mental image of her. She was nothing like the coworker he'd thought he knew just two weeks ago. It actually made her all that more attractive.

"Zer0," he replied. "Capital z with a zero in place of the o."

The joy drained from her face in an instant, leaving an incredulous stare in its wake. She gulped. "I'm Rei," she whispered.

He blinked again in disbelief. "Oh."

They both sat there in astonished silence. Because they had unknowingly been friends for the past two years, even before they had met as coworkers.

"What a coincidence, huh?" she chuckled softly. What she really wanted to say was "destiny".

"Yeah," he breathed, starting to change his mind about "fate". He went back to work on his ice cream for a minute before turning to ask, "What other games do you play? Have you ever tried Warframe or Halo?"

…

The following week was filled with daily "dates" in order to draw the "couple" closer in hopes of actually fooling Enomoto Sugihito. Their time together led to many discoveries such as Amuro's love of surfing and Azusa's aspirations to open her own café. Azusa was a little disappointed in Amuro's lack of interest in spectator sports—"You're not really Japanese if you don't watch sumo and baseball."—and Amuro found himself a little disenchanted with Azusa's love of horror films—"I'm just not a fan of gore." "But the gore's the best part!" "And it's just not very realistic." "Because you have no imagination."—and her admiration of masked wrestling—"You do know that it's fake, right?" "…I may have to call off this engagement. I simply can't marry a man with no appreciation for art."

The most striking discovery had been when they were talking about growing up and their families. Azusa recounted to him her happy childhood. She had been close to her mother, father, and brother, and she had always felt blessed, even though they didn't necessarily have a lot of money. She had always been encouraged and supported.

Amuro actually surprised himself with how honest he could be with her without compromising his identity or her safety: "I never had a real family. I don't remember my parents, so…I don't know if they died or if they abandoned me or…"

Seeing the pained look on her face, he quickly added, "But it was okay. I never really…I didn't know what I was missing out on, so it was never a big deal. I've never been one to wallow in angst. And I had mentors. People took me in and treated me like a nephew, so…even though I've never had a real family, I had people to support me. It was unconventional and really lonely at times, but I think I turned out okay. I learned to rely on myself and not care what other people thought of me."

She smiled lovingly, eyes full of compassion. "I'm glad. You're really strong, Amuro-san. I wouldn't have been able to survive like that."

An idea came to him: "Hey, Azusa-san? Are you still really tight with your parents? If so, why not ask them to help out with your brother's fiancée?"

Her smile faded as her gaze sank down into her plate. She shook her head. "My parents…passed away. When I was in high school. They…it was a drunk driving accident, so…"

Without thinking, he reached across the table and took her hand, gently squeezing it and rubbing soothing circles on the back of it with his thumb. "I'm sorry. I…I didn't…"

She squeezed his hand back and looked up at him, smiling sadly. "It's okay. It's rough sometimes, but…I'm okay."

He bit his lip and sighed, trying to come up with a lighter subject for them to talk about.

No wonder she had been so upset about her brother's fiancée tearing the siblings apart. Her brother was the only family she had left.

"Tell me a funny story from your childhood," Azusa softly broke into his thoughts, taking it upon herself to restore the levity.

He smiled and acquiesced, still holding her hand.

…

Finally Saturday night came and it was time to convince Azusa's brother that they were head over heels in love.

Amuro didn't think he'd have too much trouble seeing as he really did have feelings for Azusa. He wasn't in "love" per se…not _yet_ , but…he was infatuated with her. He enjoyed her company and admired and respected her as a person. If his job weren't an insurmountable obstacle between them, he would have very much liked to court her for real. She was an ideal mate. Unfortunately, with his work, he wasn't currently able to have the kind of relationship with her that he wanted. It wasn't safe for either of them, and it wasn't like he could explain the situation to her and ask her to wait…. Could he?

As soon as Sugihito arrived, the inquisition started.

Amuro forced himself to stay in character with a possessive arm wrapped snuggly around his "fiancée" as Sugihito fired off question after loaded question.

Amuro did his part, telling his future brother-in-law all about how they'd met through online gaming, though neither had known it until recently, and then meet again at Poirot.

Azusa joined in, explaining how "Toru-san" had seen her reading manga one day at work and had subsequently asked her on a date at this great Italian restaurant. During her story she periodically cast affectionate looks at her partner in crime.

Amuro and Azusa smiled at one another and chuckled like a real-life stupid in love couple.

They were actually selling it as they took turns recounting their impassioned confessions and Amuro's pleading proposal. Their facial expressions and eye contact, the way they smiled and blushed and touched each other was all so believable.

Sugihito grilled Amuro, but the seasoned actor was able to jump through the protective older brother's hoops with ease. Mostly because he wasn't really acting.

As the meal came to a close, Sugihito sighed in defeat and gave his sister and Amuro each a hard look in turn. "Okay. You win. It's obvious he loves you, Azusa, and you're clearly crazy about him too, so…get married. Be happy. At least one of us will be."

Azusa's internal celebration came to a sudden halt at those words. "Nii-chan, what do you mean? Are you not happy with Nakamura-san?"

Sugihito shook his head slowly. "Last week, right after I talked to you on Wednesday, I caught her cheating and broke things off," he admitted, looking down at his hands in misery. "That's why I flipped like I did on Friday when you told me you'd gotten engaged. I was worried that maybe the guy was just playing with you, especially since it happened so fast." He looked up at Amuro apologetically. "Sorry, Amuro-san. I can see now that you're a good guy and you're really gonna take care of my sister, so…I hope you can forgive me for the way I've acted up until now."

"No worries," Amuro assured, reaching out and shaking Sugihito's hand. "Sorry to hear about your own engagement."

Things were a little awkward as they paid, and the silence stretched even after Sugihito parted with them in the parking lot.

As they climbed into Amuro's car, Azusa sighed, raking her hands through her hair. "I am _so_ sorry about this, Amuro-san. I can't believe I wasted so much of your time and for nothing. I feel _really_ bad."

"Don't," he coaxed gently. "Because it wasn't a waste."

She cast him a curious look.

"I had fun," he admitted. "I liked getting to know you better, so…"

She nodded. "Yeah. I did too. I'm going to miss hanging out every day."

"Yeah," he breathed, conflicted.

Silence fell between them as they both wondered, "What now?"

Azusa was the one to speak first, "You know, my brother is actually scary good at reading people. He was only fooled by Nakamura-san because he loved her, but…we shouldn't have been able to trick him." Her voice lowered. "I…wasn't able to trick him. He saw right through me and my feelings for you, so…" She looked up at him nervously, hands and voice both shaking. "I'm just wondering if maybe he didn't see through to your real feelings for me too," she gulped.

His eyes widened in genuine surprise. "W-What if he did?"

She smiled impishly as his voice cracked, joy welling up within her. "Then…I'd ask you if you wanted to be my boyfriend for real and keep hanging out."

Amuro only hesitated for an instant before he decided to go for it. He leaned in and kissed her. "And I'd say yes," he whispered with a grin.

The

End


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